Join the Economics, Justice, and Society Research Department at NORC as the newest Senior Research Director I! Here you will have the opportunity to contribute to the continued success of one of the nation's most respected research institutions, significantly impacting NORC’s success and service to our clients.

The Senior Research Director I will direct program and policy projects working with both the federal and state governments, including projects on socio-economic trends that shape the nation’s future. The SRD I will work on policy analysis, literature reviews, structured interviews, data analysis, program and implementation support and monitoring, and technical assistance on studies that explore national trends in labor market and workforce dynamics, income and poverty, and social attitudes and opinions, as well as a range of other topics, including religion, law enforcement, and crime using a range of research methods, data science techniques, and administrative records.

NORC maintains offices in a number of metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Greater DC and Silicon Valley.  Regular office presence is not an expectation and NORC actively recruits nationwide for all levels of research staff.

The Economics, Justice, and Society delivers actionable research on critical social programs and issues, timely socio-economic trend data, and evidence-based solutions across a wide variety of topics from business dynamics to household formation. The department is home to NORC’s Center for Public Safety and Justice, Center on Behavioral Economic Analysis and Decision-Making, and three long-running flagship surveys – the General Social Survey, the Survey of Consumer Finance, and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.  We provide insights into communities, households, businesses, and the nation through our expertise in income and poverty, household finance, youth development, victimization, law enforcement, religion, traffic safety, data governance, and other topics. We engage in policy analysis and evaluation research relating to social programs and issues, the economy and the labor force, transportation and traffic safety, and crime and law enforcement. We work with a diverse set of clients and partners, including policy-makers and data users in national, state and local governments, academia, and the press.

• Direct small to moderately large projects with assistance from Research Directors and other project staff; manages tasks or components of large and complex projects.
• Function in a leadership role with responsibility for all activities on project assignments, management of primary and secondary data, and operational procedures required to deliver contracted deliverables. Plan, monitor, and quality control deliverables and other project activities.
• Ensure effective project staffing for the range of projects supervised. Develop all training strategies and materials relative to project needs.
• Monitor and oversee the financial and administrative aspects of ongoing projects.
• Guide federal and state health care programs and policymakers in using evidence-based research to make decisions.
• Must be adept at client interaction. Interact with clients frequently to clarify their needs, report on progress, discuss contractual matters, resolve problems, allay concerns, and provide information and recommendations.
• Independently drafting and managing contract proposals and grant applications including estimating project budgets
• Ensure and manage staff development, mentorship, technical assistance particularly in special areas of expertise (either substantive or methodological), management advice, performance evaluations, and other feedback on performance of staff.
• May have significant budget responsibility on components of large research projects, including monitoring project budgets and schedules. Manage subcontracts. Oversee budget development.

• Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, or other relevant discipline is required, MA or PhD is preferred.
• At least 7 years’ experience in positions of increasing responsibility in survey research or related field. Experience must include at least 3 years of project management responsibilities.
• Familiarity, understanding, and/or experience with socio-economic content areas such as income, poverty, welfare, TANF, labor and workforce dynamics, household finance, and well-being.
• Experience working for a state or the federal government or a federal or state contractor.
• Experience with conducting analysis in a government or professional services environment.
• Experience with and knowledge of the principles of quantitative and/or qualitative research design, data collection, and data analysis used in survey or evaluation studies.
• Experience with estimating project and proposal costs and managing project budgets.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and aptitude in leading and working with project teams, coordinating multiple projects (including those run by others within NORC).
• Must have experience hiring, managing, and mentoring staff.
• Occasional travel for site visits and meetings may be required.

Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.

• Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment
• Dental and vision insurance
• A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
• Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
• Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

NORC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer that values and actively seeks diversity in the workforce. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other legally- protected characteristics.

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